Inside The Huskies

Huskies Extend Offer to Local LB Ahead of his Time

Zaydrius Rainey-Sale from Bethel High in Spanaway, Washington, is a Class of 2025 prospect.
Dan Raley|
Huskies Extend Offer to Local LB Ahead of his Time
Huskies Extend Offer to Local LB Ahead of his Time

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Washington Huskies

If it's any indication of where his confidence level is at as a football player, Zaydrius Rainey-Sale already has that 1,000-yard stare going on.

He's a 6-foot-3, 215-pound linebacker for Bethel High School in Spanaway, Washington, coming off his sophomore season for the Bison that went very well for him.

News accounts said he was just 14 when he played for the Bison last October. Yet he looks twice that age, which means Rainey-Sale might be significantly ahead of his time. He's the guy to the far right in the accompanying photo.

Either way, the University of Washington football program likes what it sees in this progressive recruit and member of the Class of 2025, hosting him in Montlake for an unofficial visit on Monday and sending him on his way with a scholarship offer. 

Rainey-Sale, who was a second-team all-conference selection and singled out for his athleticism, now holds offers from Colorado, Oregon State, Nevada and the Huskies, with likely a lot more coming his way.

Playing for a 4-6 team this past fall, he finished with 53 tackles, which included 5.5 tackles for loss and 4 sacks. He was a season-long presence coming off the corner, keeping quarterbacks fully aware of him.

Bethel won four of its first five games before tailing off and dropping its final five, which ran contrary to the progression of its fast-rising linebacker. He was only moving forward .

Yet as Rainey-Sale becomes older and finds himself in more demand by recruiters, his personal success is bound to rub off more on his teammates. If not, they'll most certainly feel that piercing stare.

 

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Dan Raley
DAN RALEY

Dan Raley has worked for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, as well as for MSN.com and Boeing, the latter as a global aerospace writer. His sportswriting career spans four decades and he's covered University of Washington football and basketball during much of that time. In a working capacity, he's been to the Super Bowl, the NBA Finals, the MLB playoffs, the Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship and countless Final Fours and bowl games.

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